A New Life
by TheButteredCat
Summary: A girl who fell into a coma when she was 13, Zoey wakes up in a swamp in Pandora. Not only that she's blue! Lost and afraid, she is taken to a sister tribe of the Omaticaya located in a swamp. Rated M for language, romance and other adult stuff OC/OC
1. Prologue: The Decision

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar all credit goes to James Cameron. **

**Author's Note:**** This is something that I did for my own "shits and giggles" and this will elements of the story or wording may change frequently. It seems like each time I read it I find something that I want to change. Also, this will include romance between two OCs and also with Jake and Neytiri and possible others later on.**

_"Why won't she wake up? It doesn't make sense! Honey? Honey, wake up for mommy. It's time to get up. Zoey, you have to wake up now-"_

She could hear her mother's voice calling her, telling her to wake up but Zoey couldn't do anything. She wanted to scream but her body remained still and lifeless. She was alone in a void, it felt like she no longer had a physical body but she knew she did, she could feel her mother shaking her, holding her hand. _"What happened to me?"_ She kept repeating that question to herself, trying to recall remember but she couldn't. All she remembered was her school. Her class was reading a book aloud. What was the book about? Some moon? That was the last thing she could remember. Did she black out? Did she fall? An accident?

Zoey cried and screamed, she frantically clawed at the walls of her mind but her cries stayed within her head.

Dr. Amanda Amoahs collapsed over her daughter's body and sobbed. She had tried everything medical test to find out what was wrong with her little girl. Her hand stroked Zoey's pale cheek, trying to think what might have caused her daughter's coma. Zoey had been so full of life, so happy despite witnessing the brutal deaths of her father and brother. Dr. Amoahs's thoughts drifted back to the horrible accident. She remembered how the emergency crew found her daughter. Zoey had been trapped under the bodies of her dad and brother. They both had shielded her from the explosion but their broken faces stared her in the face, their blood dripping on her. Zoey was so emotionless; the next she acted like nothing had happened, she even wanted to go back to school because of a class party. She never allowed herself to grieve.

Amanda's head rose up with understanding. "_That's it, the accident. She must've suffered more than what she lead us to believe. The weight of the accident put too much pressure on her mind practically retreated into its self." _Amanda rose to her feet and walked over to the monitors showing the results of her daughter's head scans. Her daughter's brain activity was normal, still reacting. She turned to her partners solemnly, _"What are the chances that she'll come out of this on her own?"_

Dr. Francis, a man in his late forties, shook _his _head and frowned, _"You know the answers as well as we do. These incidences are rare at best and those few other cases never woke up. At best, she has a five percent chance of waking up, but after the first week that chance goes down to a fraction of a percent."_ He hated to see his long time friend suffer so much, Amanda had lost so much. It had only been a few months since the accident that took her husband and son's lives and now her daughter was in a coma. He was so glad that he never got married, never had any children. He didn't know what he would do if something like this happened to him.

Amanda slowly took in a long breath of air, her eyes locked of the brain readings with determination.

_"Dr. Amoahs? Did you hear me?"_

_"A week then. I'll wait a week."_

Dr. Francis turned to the other doctors in the room, _"You are dismissed." _He waited for the others to leave before turning back to his close friend, _"Amanda, I don't like that look in your eyes. What is going to happen in a week?"_

Amanda turned to Dr. Francis and sighed, _"Peter, we've been through a lot together haven't we?"_

Peter Francis nodded suspiciously, _"I suppose we have."_ He frowned, after years working with his partner; he knew all too well the radical ideas that formed in her brilliant brain.

_"We've always been there for each other in hard times." _She paused. _"I need your help. And your trust."_

Peter's voice got low and hushed, _"What crazy-ass idea do you have in your head?"_

_"It's time to make good use of what we do." _Amanda looked Peter in the eyes, _"I need a lab."_

Peter sighed, _"Let me guess, you don't need just any lab…"_

She nodded, "_I need a BioLab, one that's never used. I don't care if it's an old one, if anything needs upgraded, I'll do it myself."_

_"Amanda, do you know what you're asking me? I-I can't do that. I'm sorry, I really am. I wish I could. I'd do anything to help you but I just-I just can't do this."_

"_Peter. Think what you would do if she was your daughter. If you had already lost everyone else dear to you. You wouldn't let her just rot in her bed, never to experience anything ever again. I need to do this."_ Exhausted and desperate sobs broke up her words, _"I need to do this. I can't go one knowing that I'll never laugh with her again. You're the only one I can turn to. Please Peter. We have this wonderful technology that we use for greedy tycoons that are only interested in the fattening their wallets; this very same technology can give my daughter new life. She'd be able to experience life until she can use her real body."_

Dr. Francis put a hand to his eyes, _"Amanda, you are going to be the death of me but I guess I can't let you do this alone_." He collapsed in a chair and motioned for Dr. Amoahs to pull up a chair. _"You know, they won't allow an avatar to fully mature on earth. It'll have to be moved to Pandora, and so will Zoey. It is a dangerous place for a child."_

Dr. Amoahs sat down next to Peter, _"I know, but she'll be safe inside the complex. I have a trip to Pandora coming up in a couple years. Perhaps I can postpone it until her avatar is ready and I can convince them that I need to supervise my daughter's condition so she needs to come with me. I'll have the avatar privately shipped. In this age, there's always someone that will do the job for the right price. "_

_"You know, we could do this legally. We could convince the board that this is a strictly scientific venture, they may even fund this-"_

"_No." _Amanda interrupted him, _"They will not use my little Zoey as a public guinea pig!"_

_"Okay, Okay. It was only a suggestion. There's an old BioLab we can use. The whole section of the building isn't really in use anymore so it will be private. It's out dated though."_

"_That's okay; we're going to be trying something new."_

"_Okay then, when should we start?"_

"_Right now."_


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar or its awesomeness

**Author's Note**: Need a recap?The previous in a nut shell- Zoey the only daughter of Dr. Amoahs fell into a _mysterious _coma in which her brain is still functioning but she is still in a coma. Wanting to still be able to have a life with her daughter she decides to illegally make her daughter an Avatar to live through. Her daughter was 12 years old when she fell into the coma, the whole avatar making process (if I remember from my books right) takes roughly 9 years) so in this chapter Zoey is around the age of 20.

**P.S.** Please reveiw and if you have critic please tell me in an adult way and be polite. I've had problems in the past and have had people that voiced their opinion in a very rude fashion and I don't respond to rude very well. Please just be polite, that's all I ask.

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**Eight Years Later**

Under the veil of the Pandoran night, life stirred in the hanger at Hell's Gate. Two Samsons were being loaded with great care. Dr. Amoahs places a visor-like device over her daughter's eyes, she flips a switch on the side of the device which causes several blue, yellow and green lights to flash and flicker. After turning the device on, Amanda quickly jogged back to the second Samson. There, lying on the cargo bay floor was a tall slender form. It was a beautiful creature, smooth cyan skin, flecked with iridescence; they looked like stars upon her skin. Her daughter's avatar was dressed in a pristine hospital gown, with a thin gold chain hanging around her long, slender neck. The necklace was a star shaped locket that Amanda and her husband had given her shortly before the accident that claimed him and their son. She thought that the avatar should have it on since it was now the body her precious Zoey would be living through. Amanda smiled, lovingly brushing a stand of ebony hair from the being's face, "_Sweetie? Can you open your eyes?" _The Na'vi like creature's eyes flinched but said closed. "_Zoey, I need you to open your eyes for me." _

Dr. Amoahs waited anxiously, her heart leapt as the avatar's eyes flickered open, and it spoke, _"Mom?" _

"_Yes sweetie, its mommy." _Tears of joy began to swell in her eyes; it had been so long since she last heard the sweet sound of her daughter's voice. Everything was finally coming together, all those years working in secret finally paid off.

Zoey looked up at her mother questioning, "_What are you wearing? Where are we?" _She was referring to the exo-pack on her mother's face.

"_Don't worry; I'll explain everything later to you but right now we are going to fly somewhere where you can get better in private. I want to tell you that everything will be different and strange but that's okay because we're together."_

Zoey was suddenly hit with drowsiness, her vision started to fade, _"M-Mom what's happening?" _

Amanda cried out, _"Stay with me, sweetie! Stay awake." _It was too late; Zoey's avatar was still once again. Dr. Amoahs ran back over to the first SA-2 and to her daughter. She sighed in disappointment, the lights had gone out. "_We lost the link." _Dr. Francis ran over from talking to the pilots, "_What's wrong?"_

"_It worked, I spoke to her but then the link failed." _Her voice was full of defeat, "_She was there, talking to me…"_

Peter sighed with sympathy, _"Don't worry, once we get to the portable bio-lab we can work some more on it." He put a hand on her shoulder, "We all expected this to happen. You knew that the chances of a stable link the first time was unlikely. We never even tested your portable link device. We'll get it to work once we get there."_

Amanda smile her friend, "_Yeah, you're right; I guess I was just being overly hopeful." _Peter had aged a great deal in the eight years since they first started this venture; his hair was now completely gray, his face worn from all the late nights working with her. His eyes were set behind a pair of thick framed glasses and those dusty gray eyes showed his nervousness. Amanda knew his aging was due to all the stress and pressure she put him under these last several years but she was glad to have his help and companionship. _"Peter? Would you do me the honor of watching over my daughter's avatar during the flight?" _

Peter smiled, _"Of course, Amanda."_

"Thank you Peter." She turned and yelled over at the pilots, "_We're heading to the far side of the Omaticaya territory, past the swamps."_

A brawny pilot stormed up to the two after standing with the other pilots, _"Fine but we need to leave now or else our price will double. Our people on the inside won't ignore the hanger's security monitors forever."_ The Pilot's face was riddled with scars, showing the experience he had in battle. His mouth opened to decaying death, his breathe smelled of bile.

"_Ok, we can leave now, but be sure to check to make sure the avatar is strapped in good."_

The crude pilot grunted and motioned the other pilots to prepare to take off. They scattered and loaded up into the cockpits. The scarred pilot went over to the Samson with the avatar and half-heartedly tugged on one of the straps holding Zoey's avatar to the cargo bay floor before hoping into the cockpit.

Peter tried to hide his nervousness but the sweat beading on his upper lip and forehead showed everything, _"See you on the other side." _

"_Peter." _Dr. Amoahs smiled,_ "Thanks." _

Peter smiled then jogged back to the second Samson and took a seat near the avatar. Amanda sighed and climbed into the first with her daughter_. "Let's go."_


	3. Chapter Two

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the short chapter. The next chapter is going to be up shortly as well. I want to say how surprised I am to see all the people putting this story on their watch list. I hope the future chapters don't disappoint.

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The jungle below had begun to turn into swamp. Specs of iridescence and water shown through the thick canopy of the forest. It was beautiful. Everything seemed peaceful as the sun began to crest over the horizon but despite the peacefulness below, Peter couldn't stop fidgeting. Something wasn't right. The pilots kept mumbling things to each other on their private channel; they kept on eyeing the air around them. Their hands on the trigger for the Samson's modest weapons system, they seemed to know something. Peter stuttered, _"I-Is th-there a-a-anything wrong?" _

The co-pilot glanced over his shoulder at Peter and smirked, _"Not yet."_

"_W-What does that mean?" _Damn pilots and their smart ass sense of humor. Peter couldn't stand it. Was there trouble or wasn't there?

The other pilot chimed in, _"It means Doctor that it's too quiet and too quiet on Pandora means trouble."_

"_Trouble? What troub-"_ Peter was interrupted as something smashed into their Samson. He let out a loud moan which sounded more like a scream. He stared out the open side of the vehicle to see a giant beast flying alongside them. It was a dreadful sight, to Peter it was like looking death in the face. He was too much in horror to notice its war painted rider. The beast known to the Terrans as a Banshee soon pulled off but was soon replaced with another one.

The pilots cursed has they took evasive maneuvers, the co-pilot taking the control of the weapons. They fired at the Banshees but their bullets were easily avoided by them, _"God Damn Na'vi!" _

Peter's fear momentarily turned to awe at the pilot's mention of the Na'vi, he turned and looked out the opened side to catch a glimpse of them. They almost looked to be a part of the creatures they were riding; their bodies painted to match. It was amazing how much they seemed to be one with their beasts. Fear took hold of him again as one of the Na'vi warriors shot an arrow into the cargo bay, narrowly missing the avatar. He was taken back at the size of the arrow. It was huge; it looked to be a spear and not an arrow. Little did Peter, realize, the arrow had severed the main strap holding the avatar in place.

The pilots yelled through their radios to the other Samson, they needed to get out of there and fast. They banked hard to the left, and then to the right, trying to shake their attackers, _"So much for technology giving us the upper hand," _one of the pilots cursed. He couldn't understand how they had the advanced weapons and yet they were still getting their asses handed to them by a bunch of flying savages. With each bank, the straps on the slender avatar's limbs loosened.

Peter was panicking, _"Get us the fuck out of here. Oh God, I'm going to die!"_ Peter clenched his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands. If he was going to die, he didn't want to see or hear it coming. The blue form was now free of any restraints; its great weight seemed to keep it stationary. That is until the pilots took another hard bank and with that, the limp Na'vi form slid across the cargo bay floor and out the opened side.

The lifeless Na'vi form fell from the sky; it crashed through the dense canopy, its branches ripped at the flimsy hospital grown. The body had been lucky; its fall was cushioned by the giant leaves and vines of the trees. She landed in a pool of thick mud with a thud. The slender blue creature was lifeless on the forest floor; the fall had tattered her gown to practically nothing. The only thing that managed to survive the fall was the gold necklace which glistened from the surrounding iridescent flora.


	4. Chapter Three

**Authors Note:** As promised here's another chapter. I do have a couple more finished but I just donated some blood so I'm out of it so more chapters probably won't be until tomorrow. Enjoy!

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Back in the air, the Na'vi warriors watch the Terrans' machines disappear over the horizon after pulling off their attack. The coalition of six young Na'vi males whooped and hollered in triumph. _"Brothers, let us go back and tell our brothers and sisters of our victory!" _Za'au had the respect of his companions; he rode his Ikran with pride. His black hair was wild and braided up his skull leaving the rest of his hair as a long mohawk that was brushed to one side. Feathers and beads were laced through his hair, his queue braid lying against his back. His ears were pierced with bone studs and his eyes were a bright green. He was adorned with ornate leather armor which was decorated with feathers and stone beads which showed his high standings in the tribe.

"_Za__'au, one of their dreamwalkers fell from their machine; we should find it and bring it back to Hometree to show our victory."_

Za'au smiled and laughed, _"That is a great idea Hufwe, let us make a competition of it. The one to find that abomination will get the most glory upon our return to Hometree."_Za'u let out a holler and turned his Ikran around, his group followed his lead, we sounded the start and they dived down into the forest, each Na'vi choosing their own path.

Za'au was determined to find the thing that they called a Dreamwalker. Confusing things, the humans create these things so that they can fit in with the Na'vi but they never will. The way of the humans is a greedy one. Like a hungry beast, they consume everything around them until there is nothing left. The young Na'vi warrior landed his brightly colored Ikran in a tree and signaled it to fly off until he is called for. He moved gracefully through the giant trees, his tail acting as a counter weight to his actions. He knew he would win, his friends did not think their actions through. Za'au landed downwind from where the dreamwalker fell and because of that he would easily track it down. Those things reek of humans; it is an unmistakable smell.

There were signs of life from the bruised body of the young Dreamwalker as a light rain began to fall. The cool rain felt refreshing on her skin, as she slowly drifted to conciousness, she became aware of her laying in muck. She slowly opened her eyes, her sight was blurry at first; she couldn't make out her surrounding, she could only see blurred colors. _"Mom?" _Her vision was slowly coming back to her. As she stared up from her back, the canopy of swamp took its form in vibrant greens and blues. The young avatar, just stared, her brilliant green eyes taking in everything. Zoey was amazed from her dream, it seemed so real.

Reality dawned on her when she went to stand up. One arm at a time she went to prop herself up, when she went to place weight on her right arm she was overwhelmed by an avalanche of pain. Tears shot to her eyes as she screamed in pain, Zoey fell back into the mud and rolled on her side. Her mud caked hair clung to her face and to her skin. She surrendered herself the pain of her arm. She was sure it had to be broken. Her cries of pain turned into cries of fear and confusion as she realized that she was alone. _"Mom! Please.." _The youngling wished for her mother, where was she? Why had she left her here on her own? Zoey brought her left hand up to her face to wipe the mud and tears from her face, however her blue hand never made it there for she realized just that, her hand was blue! Her golden eyes widened shock as she looked at the rest of herself. She was blue! Not just blue, completely naked save for a few shreds of muddied cloth. She scrambled to her feet but fell back to the ground, landing on her injured arm. She screamed.

Za'au heard an unfamiliar scream up ahead. It was not Na'vi but he was sure it couldn't be the Dreamwalker. Surely it couldn't be in working condition after the fall. His mind went to warrior mode; he could be walking into a human trap.

Za'au dropped through the forest floor, landed on muted feet. He crept cautiously through the flora avoiding pools of water and staying in the shadows. He stopped; he was almost on top of it. Peering out from the shadows, he spotted it. It was an avatar alright, but this avatar was shriveled on the ground, crying like some infant. Surely this was not real, even the humans would not let someone so weak out here. For a split second, Za'au lost is concentration and snapped a twig while shifting his weight. He ducked back further into the shadows, the light rain causing his skin to shimmer.

Zoey's ears perked at a sound in the shadows, her fear and pain seemed to be lessened when the naïve optimism of a child told her it had to be her mother coming to get it her. _"Mom?"_ A smile spread across Zoey's face as she scrambled to her feet and started stumbling towards the dense growth holding her broke arm; tears of relief streaming down her muddy cyan cheeks.

Za'au couldn't believe this injured Dreamwalker was so ready to wander off into the forest, and it was calling out for her mother. Only a moron or a child would run into the forest injured because anyone with any brains would know an injury out here means death. Weapon in hand, he stepped out into the open, his muscles tensed ready to react. Zoey stopped dead in her tracks, when not her mother stepped out but an armed Na'vi warrior. Her eyes widened in fear, sweat merged with tears and mud on her face has she stumbled back. Za'au matched her every step, pushing her slowly back, manipulating where this Dreamwalker went. He was cornering her and she didn't even realize it. The frightened avatar, stammered in fear, she could hardly speak, _"P-Please n-no. Stay back._" The Na'vi warrior's green eyes studied her, trying to predict a possible attack from the stange female. A trap seemed less and less likely, this creatures arm was severely injured and it didn't take an idiot to see that she was no warrior.

She kept backing up, hoping that this alien would stop and just leave her alone but he kept coming. Suddenly Zoey's back hit something, she cried out as the vibration of the impact shook through her broken bone. She spun around to see herself face to face with the trunk giant tree. She had not where to go now. This fearsome warrior had purposely cut off any escape routes. Zoey shrank back in fear, her voice barely a whisper, _"P-Please, please, please. No, please. Just_…"


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note:** Okay I apologize for the short chapters, this one is longer. I realize the short chapters are kind of accidental, I knew they were shorter but I didn't realize how short they were until today. I think its because it seems like word doc. transfer to alot smaller space. Some of the short chapters have been 2+ pages in word size 10 font but it def. doesn't seem like that much after I upload onto here. I'll try to make them longer and hopefully I'll figure out the right formula. Anyways, enjoy. Let me know if there's any inconsistancies, I've changed this segment so many times and even though I've reread it there still could be some things I missed.

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Za'au had enough, his friends should not be treated this creature so. It may be an avatar but it was just a child. He had killed many humans and avatars alike, he had no problem killing them, they disgusted him but this female was not like the others. She was no warrior, no scientist, she was but a child. There was glory in killing the Terrans and their avatars, but there would never be any honor in killing a child. He sprung into action, pulling his friends away from the Zoey and stepped between his friend and her. He roared in his native language, _"That is enough Brothers!"_

Hufwe couldn't believe his friend. Za'au was taking this abomination's side. _"__Za__'u, why do you stand against us? That thing is not alive! It is an empty shell, a puppet controlled by the outsiders!"_

Za'au growled_, "This is not an ordinary encounter Brother. Take a moment and just look at her,_" he motioned back to the sobbing girl, _"that, that thing is just a child! It may not appear to be but look with your soul, hear its cries. This female knows nothing about where she is, when I found her she was crying for her mother."_

Hufwe and the others didn't want to listen to what Za'au was saying. Hufwe above them all was hurt by his friend's actions. He and Za'au had always been close, that have stood next to each other in very hard times. Zoey watched as they argued amongst themselves, they're probably deciding who gets to kill her, who will get to stick her head on a pike…or something worse. She started crying harder and shrank to ground. She huddled up against the trunk of the tree and buried her face in its trunk. Something suddenly brushed against her shoulder, she jerked up thinking it was one of the alien warriors but no, they were still arguing. Her golden eyes looked around and landed on a small floating creature. It was a brilliant bright color and seemed to glow. It looked almost like a little jelly fish. Zoey suddenly felt calmer and the arm seemed to hurt less looking at this little creature, she rose to her feet and reached out her good hand to it and it gracefully floated over and landed in her palm. It seemed to dance in her hand. It was like a feather.

Za'au glanced back at the girl who was now standing; fear and pain had seemed to have left her. His lips parted in disbelief, a whisper escaped through them, "Ewya." His friends turned their attention to the girl. Za'au turned back to them, "See Brothers? Ewya has even shown favor for this creature."

His friends were dumbfounded; they couldn't believe that their goddess had shown favor for this alien intruder. Hufwe especially didn't want to believe it, he snarled. One of the Na'vi spoke_, "what are we suppose to do?"_

Za'au spoke with resolve now looking back at Zoey, _"We will take her back to Hometree and the __Tsa__hìk shall decide her fate."_

Zoey watched as the strange creature floated away, the fierce glare of Hufwe catch her gaze and caused her fear to grip her heart. His golden eyes told her everything; how he wanted to rip her apart make her suffer like his people had suffered. Hufwe turned to Za'au and snarled, _"I will not be a part of this. You, you will pay for betraying the People __Za__'au."_ The other males stepped back, they would take the side of Za'au but they knew from experience that when Za'au and Hufwe fought to stay out of their way.

Za'au was on him in a flash, in one swift movement, Hufwe was on the ground with a fierce Za'au holding a blade to his throat. Za'au roared, his face wrinkled in a snarl, ears back close to his head, _"You will not speak to me about loyalty to our People! You would ignore signs of our Mother to heal your hurt pride."_ Hufwe avoided Za'au's eyes, and then looked up at Zoey who was looking just as afraid as she had been before. He murmured, his eyes now directed at the forest floor, _"I am sorry __Za__'au. You are right; I was not listening to Eywa." _His voice was stoic, he was not willing to accept t that it was a sign that Eywa favored the female but he did realize that Za'au was right when he said that it was a matter for the Tsakìk.

Za'au smiled and laughed helping his friend to his feet, "You are my Brother Hufwe and you wish only to keep our People safe. Do not feel shame for that."

Hufwe climbed to his feet, his feelings and his pride hurt. He couldn't believe he was thrown to the ground so easily. He looked to his friend, "_If you really want to bring her back and if it is the will of Eywa then I will help you."_

"_Good."_ He turned now turned his attention to the Na'vi imposter. Zoey stared at him frozen in fear. They were all staring at her with a common goal in their eyes. Za'au walked over to her and grabbed her left arm; she cried out and struggled to get out of his grasp. Despite the pain of her broken arm, some primal force gave her strength to claw at his hand. Something had taken hold of her mind, something which caused her body to act on its own. Adrenaline maybe? Hufwe and the other came to Za'au's aide. This girl had gone from being a helpless baby to a cornered nangtang in an instant. She kicked and clawed at them with all of her might, she even tried sinking her cat-like teeth into their arms. Za'u growled in annoyance grabbed something on the back of her head. She cried out and stopped struggling. He had grabbed the base of her queue and pulling on it just enough to cause her discomfort, he spoke in broken English, _"Do not be in fear. You will stop fighting and come."_

Zoey's jaw dropped, he was speaking in English. She shook her head, _"No, no please just let me go. My mom will be coming to get me. I…"_ She was cut off by Za'au, _"You are lost to your mother. If do not come,"_ he paused and made a loud, sharp shout, _"you will die."_ Zoey's mouth opened in a silent scream as images of her being ripped apart flashed in her mind. A roar could be heard in the canopy above them, the Na'vi looked up to see Za'u's Ikran crashing down through the canopy and landing on the forest floor behind them. Zoey froze, something in her mind shut off and her expression became stoic. The only sign of emotion were the tears still trailing down her face. Za'au turned and looked at the others, his green eyes asking what had just happened. The girl had been so full of emotion and now there was nothing. Her glossy eyes seemed frozen in an empty stare.

Hufwe could have cared less about this thing's sudden change in demeanor, he brushed past Za'au and grabbed Zoey's slender wrist and pulled her towards Ikran, she gave no sign of protest. He smirked, _"At least the thing has stopped making noise. Let us hurry and get back to Hometree."_ Za'au mounted his Ikran and with the help of Hufwe, hoisted Zoey up behind him. Za'u used some leather cord to bind her wrists around his chest to secure her during the flight. The last thing he needed was to have to worry about her sliding off. Hufwe and the others called for their Ikrans and with a signal from Za'au, they rose off the forest floor.

Za'au could hardly believe what was happening; she was like a child in an adult form. Her body was matured but her eyes showed her soul, the soul of a child. This female had absolutely no idea where she was or how she got here. She had been calling for her mother like a child would. This could not be a trap and if it was the Terrans had sunk to an all time low; putting one of their children through this. The thought of it disgusted Za'au. Humans were a despicable race. Za'au's ears reacted to the sounds of his coalition jumping down from the trees behind him. They spoke in their native tongue laughing, Hufwe spoke, _"the creature is still breathing and you have it crying like a baby. __Za__'au you are a great warrior, you single handedly have the humans bumbling like dumb babies in your presence." _

Hufwe started to strut over to the frightened Na'vi like girl, looking her over, he sniggered _"Let us have some fun now."_ The Na'vi youths never had the chance to really look at a walking Avatar up close since their clan banned all avatars from coming to Hometree. It was amazing how similar they were to them. The other males laughed and followed Hufwe up to the girl. Zoey screamed in absolute horror, she sounded as though they were torturing her to death. Her scream even made Hufwe and the other males stop for a moment; for only a moment because they soon broke out into laughter. They taunted her and made sly and crude comments in their native language. They grabbed her hair and poked her with their boney fingers. Zoey seemed to shrink; she tried to cover her nakedness with her limb. She felt so exposed and she was. These things were staring at her, touching her, laughing. The pain in her arm was unbearable, she wanted to die. Her stomach turned like she needed to get sick.

Za'au had enough, his friends should not be treated this creature so. It may be an avatar but it was just a child. He had killed many humans and avatars alike, he had no problem killing them, they disgusted him but this female was not like the others. She was no warrior, no scientist, she was but a child. There was glory in killing the Terrans and their avatars, but there would never be any honor in killing a child. He sprung into action, pulling his friends away from the Zoey and stepped between his friend and her. He roared in his native language, _"That is enough Brothers!"_

Hufwe couldn't believe his friend. Za'au was taking this abomination's side. _"__Za__'u, why do you stand against us? That thing is not alive! It is an empty shell, a puppet controlled by the outsiders!"_

Za'au growled_, "This is not an ordinary encounter Brother. Take a moment and just look at her,_" he motioned back to the sobbing girl, _"that, that thing is just a child! It may not appear to be but look with your soul, hear its cries. This female knows nothing about where she is, when I found her she was crying for her mother."_

Hufwe and the others didn't want to listen to what Za'au was saying. Hufwe above them all was hurt by his friend's actions. He and Za'au had always been close, that have stood next to each other in very hard times. Zoey watched as they argued amongst themselves, they're probably deciding who gets to kill her, who will get to stick her head on a pike…or something worse. She started crying harder and shrank to ground. She huddled up against the trunk of the tree and buried her face in its trunk. Something suddenly brushed against her shoulder, she jerked up thinking it was one of the alien warriors but no, they were still arguing. Her golden eyes looked around and landed on a small floating creature. It was a brilliant bright color and seemed to glow. It looked almost like a little jelly fish. Zoey suddenly felt calmer and the arm seemed to hurt less looking at this little creature, she rose to her feet and reached out her good hand to it and it gracefully floated over and landed in her palm. It seemed to dance in her hand. It was like a feather.

Za'au glanced back at the girl who was now standing; fear and pain had seemed to have left her. His lips parted in disbelief, a whisper escaped through them, "Ewya." His friends turned their attention to the girl. Za'au turned back to them, "See Brothers? Ewya has even shown favor for this creature."

His friends were dumbfounded; they couldn't believe that their goddess had shown favor for this alien intruder. Hufwe especially didn't want to believe it, he snarled. One of the Na'vi spoke_, "what are we suppose to do?"_

Za'au spoke with resolve now looking back at Zoey, _"We will take her back to Hometree and the __Tsa__hìk shall decide her fate."_

Zoey watched as the strange creature floated away, the fierce glare of Hufwe catch her gaze and caused fear to grip her heart. His golden eyes told her everything; how he wanted to rip her apart make her suffer as his people had suffered. Hufwe turned to Za'au and snarled, _"I will not be a part of this. You, you will pay for betraying the People __Za__'au."_ The other males stepped back, they would take the side of Za'au but they knew from experience that when Za'au and Hufwe fought to stay out of their way.

Za'au was on him in a flash, in one swift movement, Hufwe was on the ground with a fierce Za'au holding a blade to his throat. Za'au roared, his face wrinkled in a snarl, ears back close to his head, _"You will not speak to me about loyalty to our People! You would ignore signs of our Mother to heal your hurt pride."_ Hufwe avoided Za'au's eyes, and then looked up at Zoey who was looking just as afraid as she had been before. He murmured, his eyes now directed at the forest floor, _"I am sorry __Za__'au. You are right; I was not listening to Eywa." _His voice was stoic, he was not willing to accept t that it was a sign that Eywa favored the female but he did realize that Za'au was right when he said that it was a matter for the Tsakìk.

Za'au smiled and laughed helping his friend to his feet, "You are my Brother Hufwe and you wish only to keep our People safe. Do not feel shame for that."

Hufwe climbed to his feet, his feelings and his pride hurt. He couldn't believe he was thrown to the ground so easily. He looked to his friend, "_If you really want to bring her back and if it is the will of Eywa then I will help you."_

"_Good."_ He turned now turned his attention to the Na'vi imposter. Zoey stared at him frozen in fear. They were all staring at her with a common goal in their eyes. Za'au walked over to her and grabbed her left arm; she cried out and struggled to get out of his grasp. Despite the pain of her broken arm, some primal force gave her strength to claw at his hand. Something had taken hold of her mind, something which caused her body to act on its own. Adrenaline maybe? Hufwe and the other came to Za'au's aide. This girl had gone from being a helpless baby to a cornered nangtang in an instant. She kicked and clawed at them with all of her might, she even tried sinking her cat-like teeth into their arms. Za'u growled in annoyance grabbed something on the back of her head. She cried out and stopped struggling. He had grabbed the base of her queue and pulling on it just enough to cause her discomfort, he spoke in broken English, _"Do not be in fear. You will stop fighting and come."_

Zoey's jaw dropped, he was speaking in English. She shook her head, _"No, no please just let me go. My mom will be coming to get me. I…"_ She was cut off by Za'au, _"You are lost to your mother. If do not come,"_ he paused and made a loud, sharp shout, _"you will die."_ Zoey's mouth opened in a silent scream as images of her being ripped apart flashed in her mind. A roar could be heard in the canopy above them, the Na'vi looked up to see Za'u's Ikran crashing down through the canopy and landing on the forest floor behind them. Zoey froze, something in her mind shut off and her expression became stoic. The only sign of emotion were the tears still trailing down her face. Za'au turned and looked at the others, his green eyes asking what had just happened. The girl had been so full of emotion and now there was nothing. Her glossy eyes seemed frozen in an empty stare.

Hufwe could have cared less about this thing's sudden change in demeanor, he brushed past Za'au and grabbed Zoey's slender wrist and pulled her towards Ikran, she gave no sign of protest. He smirked, _"At least the thing has stopped making noise. Let us hurry and get back to Hometree."_ Za'au mounted his Ikran and with the help of Hufwe, hoisted Zoey up behind him. Za'u used some leather cord to bind her wrists around his chest to secure her during the flight. The last thing he needed was to have to worry about her sliding off. Hufwe and the others called for their Ikrans and with a signal from Za'au, they rose off the forest floor.

During the flight, Zoey snapped out of her trance-like state, her arm was hurting more than ever as it was bound tightly. It felt as if the bone was going to sprout through her skin, her stomach twisted . Her ebony hair whipped behind her as they soared. The mud on her skin felt like cement and some flakes flew off in the wind. Her attention what caught by the dreadful screech of the Ikran. She frantically scanned the air around them; all of the warriors were riding them, what would happen if she resisted them? Zoey clenched her eyes closed, tears escaping from the outside corners of her eye. She felt so helpless, so alone and without realizing it, she tightened her grip around Za'u's chest and hid her face in his back. Za'u felt the arms tighten around him, he was surprised with softness of it; he was expecting if anything, the frantic clawing of a trapped animal again. He subtly glanced over his shoulder; a secret smile was upon his face. Just like a child. The Omahanwhe tribe kept their ways true to their mother tribe, the Omaticaya's ways and so was a highly communal tribe that held familial trust sacred. He couldn't help but feel honored that this female could seek comfort from him.

It was a lengthy forty minute flight to Hometree for the Na'vi warriors. Hufwe thought of how their tribe will react when they returned with this Dreamwalker and what the Tsakìk would decide. He hoped that she would announce that Eywa's will was to return this thing's bodies to her, in other words, kill her. The image made the corners of his thin mouth turn up in a smile. He stared at the back of her head, it appeared that she had fallen asleep. The side of her face rested on his friend's back. Hufwe's ikrane hissed feeling his partner's dislike through their bond. Hufwe smirked and patted his green and yellow friend.

The Omahanwhe clan was a small one, at least a third of the Omaticayans and their Hometree showed that difference. It was a large tree but dwarfed in comparison. Hometree was located deep in the thickest part of the swamp which kept it relatively untouched by the Terrans, it was located on a island just big enough for the tree to reside on. The inner structure of the tree was much like their neighbors in the forest which was probably why the founders chose this particular tree. One of the biggest diffrences, besides the size was how many more vines the Omahanwhe's Hometree had. The People seemed to take advantage of this in their everyday life, whether it was moving from different levels of home tree or their food storage.

As they began their descent, the calls of the Omahanwhe scouts sounding their arrival could be heard. Below, na'vi began emerging from Hometree with curiosity. Usually the ikran warriors landed in the ikran nests high in the top of Hometree. Landing on the ground often meant an impressive kill had been made or something of greater urgency had occurred. Even the wise Tsakìk had begun her way down from her den, Eywa's presence was strong within her and she could sense the arrival of the young warriors held great importance.


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took so long for an update. I had a family reunion to go to in another state and then I got sidetracked by concept art for this story, my job and money issues. Plus, depression is a b*tch and I find myself having difficulties mustering any motivation to do anything, including things I normally jump at the chance of doing. Anyways, back on the topic of concept art for this. I'm thinking about putting a link in my notes where you all can look at them. I know I'm horrible about describing characters (or at least I feel like I can never describe them to my personal standards.) I hope this chapter is long enough. In this chapter a possible clue to some future trouble!

* * *

By the time the Tsakìk, Imeadi had made her way down, Za'au, Huwfe and the other warriors had landed. Her mate, the Oloeyktan was already with them. The Tsakìk was a wise woman. Eywa had blessed her with that. She had been beautiful in her youth and that was apparent even now despite her time worn skin. Her hair was thick and like many of her People, was braided into small tight braids. Something that made her appearance unique was that she had two large braids (one of which her was her queue) coming over her shoulders, joining into one trailing down the center of her chest. This made her queue more accessible in ritual and prayer. However unique it was, she was not the only Tsakìk that positioned her queue that way. Her older sister, Moat had her's the same way. Actually, Imeadi and her sister shared this as a visual mark of their bond. It was hard for both of them when Eywa made it known that she was to follow in Moat's footsteps and become a Tsakìk herself and branch off from the main tribe with her mate.

Hufwe hid his satisfaction well; the Oloeyktan was none too thrilled to have a Dreamwalker here. He hated the Sky People and their Dreamwalkers. To him they meant death to his people. He had only met only handful of them that seemed to actually want to live in peace, these were what the Sky People called scientists. Zoey stood there, quietly sobbing, tears running down her cheeks, and her arm throbbing. Her right forearm was turning black and dark purple from the break and both arms showed signs of where the leather cord had dug into her skin during the flight. Zu'au held her good arm behind her back; he knew by the look of her other arm that she wouldn't be using it for a while. Zu'au had great respect for his father; he had been a great warrior in his youth and still was much more of one than most. He spoke in their home language, _"Father, I know I should not have brought this Dreamwalker here but there was a sign."_

The Oloeyktan grimaced in disgust at the girl before looking back at his son, _"You of any knows to kill these things when you come in contact with them. They can only bring us sorrow and more death." _

"_Yes father. We had thought that it would've been dead; it had fallen from one of the Skypeople's flying machines. We were certain that it was no longer moving, we had meant to bring the body back to show of our great victory." _Zu'au paused for a moment, _"When I found it, it was crying for its mother. It was like a child."_

The clan leader was about to speak when his mate, Imeadi approached through the parting clanspeople. Her eyes fell upon the mud covered form of Zoey and approached her.

Zoey tried to shrink away from the strange woman that came up to her but Za'au's grip just tightened on her arm. Her sobs became more audible as she tried to plead, "_Please, let me go. I just want to go home." _

The Tsakìk, without warning unsheathed a thorn from its case around her waist and pricked Zoey's shoulder; Imeadi ran the thorn across her tongue and paused for a moment, she could taste the girl's spirit. She closed her eyes and listened with her heart. She heard Eywe and knew what must be done. Her eyes softened and motioned for Za'au to release his grip. Imeadi placed a weathered hand on the girl's muddied cheek as she motioned for some of the clan females; she then spoke in a motherly tone, her English broken, _"Come now Child, you are safe here." _Za'au let go have Zoey's arm and the Tsakìk and the other females escorted her to the bathing area.

Reluctantly, Zoey was led one of the more private bathing pools and she was helped down into the surprisingly warm water and it felt good on her skin but she couldn't relax. She stared at the strange woman who obviously had great power; she had a fearsome look to her. Something about Imeadi relaxed her though, something made her feel safe. It was her voice. It was strong and assertive but it had a softness to it. She thought back to her mother and began crying again. Where was her mom? She missed her so much. She wanted her mom to hold her, to comfort her and to tell her that everything was going to be fine.

Imeadi knew Zoey was hurting for someone close to her so she slid into the warm water next to Zoey and pulled to girl to her and shushed her softy, stroking her hair, _"Quiet yourself Child, Eywe would not bring you to us for no reason." _Zoey began crying harder as this Mother to the clan began to comfort her. She couldn't hold herself back from sobbing into Imeadi's shoulder. This woman was the closest thing to a mother that she had right now and all she wanted to do was to be comforted by her mother so this one would have to do for now.

A hour had probably gone by before Imeadi lead Zoey away from the baths and up to her den. Zoey had been fitted with some clothing which some of the tribeswomen had brought. The top was no more than a strip of weaved cloth wrapped that crossed in front of her and tied around her neck. Imeadi brought her to what Zoey could only describe as a hammock, and motioned for Zoey to sit down, _"Show me your arm." _Zoey sat unsteadily on the hammock; she grimaced as she brought her arm in front of her. The Tsakìk took her arm indifferently and examined it. She squeezed and yanked on it in several different ways causing Zoey to shriek and cry out in pain.

Finally, after what seemed to Zoey to be a lifetime, Imeadi released her arm and walked over to a group of clay jars, _"It is not broken but it will need time to heal."_Her eyes scanned the jars until she spotted the one she needed. She opened the jar and brought out a root of some sort. She grabbed a smaller jar and brought that and the root back over to Zoey. She handed Zoey the root,_ "Chew this." _Zoey took it from her wearily and examined it, she smelled it and about gagged. Imeadi hissed at Zoey, which caused to pop it in her mouth without further protest.

The root didn't taste has bad has it had smelled. That was a relief. It was bitter, there was no denying that but the moisture within the root had a slightly sweet taste with a hint of mint. It reminded her of coconut milk with a minty aftertaste…actually it wasn't really an aftertaste, more of an aroma that lingered in the mouth and throat. As the fluid ran down her throat, a kind of warmth seemed to consume her. It felt like the warm feeling that cold and flu syrup from earth made your stomach warm but this warmed the entire body. The minor aches and pains from the fall went away and the pain from her arm dulled. Zoey laid back in the hammock, she felt so relaxed. The she looked at Imeadi who had put some salve on her injured arm and was now wrapping it, _"Where am I?" _Sleep filled her voice and as she drifted off to sleep, Imeadi spoke, "_You are with the Omahanwhe."_

Imeadi finished binding the girl arm and grabbed a cloth shawl and placed it over her. She had given her a root that was known to the People to have sedative properties. The English translation of the name was, sleep bringer. The plant the root comes from is poisonous; its leaves are razor sharp and if a creature, na'vi or otherwise, were to get cut by one of these leaves, they would get a high fever, lose feeling in their limbs and in a worst case scenario, die after a few days of agony.

* * *

She was home again. _"What a nightmare!" _Zoey sighed and sat up in her bed and surveyed her room. Everything was in place, she stood up and walked over to the mirror hanging above her dresser. She ran her fingers through her mahogany hair, her golden eyes beaming. She was herself again, a girl in her preteens with fair skin, rosy cheeks and not a care in the world, except for maybe getting her first boyfriend! Laughing she looked out her window, it was a beautiful day! She'd call Crissy and they'd go swimming or something. She ran down the hallway and practically jumped down the stairs. She entered the kitchen and her day just got better. Her dad and brother was there! She ran and flung her arms around her dad's neck. _"Papa! You guys are back! I thought you'd be in London forever!" _Her father smiled. Zoey turned to her brother, _"How was school there? Did you make any friends? Was it any different from school here?" _Her brother smiled. Zoey gave a short laugh, "_Come on. You guys just come back and you aer already giving me a hard time. How was it?"_They both just smiled, Zoey's face turned red. _"Fine, don't talk to me. I don't need to hear it from you anyways, I'll just get it out of mom."_She spun around and ran to her mother's office. Her mom was sitting at her desk with her nose in her paperwork as usual. Zoey ran over to her mom, _"Mom, Dad and - are being mean!" _She paused, wait. Her brother's name? She looked at her mother, she was just smiling. _"Mom didn't you hear me? Can't you tell them to be nice? They just got back." _Her mom just continued to smile. Zoey heart sank as her mom joined her dad and brother in their prank, "_Mom? Why are you guys doing this to me?"_ She grabbed hold her mom and hugged her, "_Did I do something wrong?"_

Her mother spoke, "_Don't touch me."_

Zoey's mouth gapped, _"W-What?" _Her arms fell from around her mom and stared at her hurt and confused, "_What's wrong? Did I do anything wrong?" _

Her mother was stoic, her eyes were cold as she leered at her daughter, "_You weren't suppose to come back. I dumped you there for a reason" _

Tears were now running down her cheeks. What was her mom saying? How could she say those things to her? _"Mom, how can you say that?" _She reached out and touched her mother's shoulder. She was knocked back instantly, her mom looming over her.

Her mother screamed out at her in a voice that seemed almost inhuman, _"They are dead because of you! You killed them! You took my husband and son away from me!_

Zoey cried, _"No I didn't Mama! I didn't! They're in the kitchen! They're eating breakfast!"_

_"You lie! You killed them! They're gone because of you!"_

_"Mama please, They're not dead I'm promise! Just go look!"_

_"Fine, I'll see." _Her mom grabbed her daughter's arm and yanked her to her feet. She pulled Zoey roughly through the how to the kitchen. Her mom reached the kitchen first and she stopped dead in her tracks and just stared in disbelief.

As Zoey came up behind her, "_See mom, they're there. They're alright"_As the kitchen tabled came into view, Zoey's stomach jumped into her throat. They were dead! Her father and brother were sitting at the table as they were earlier but their skin was falling off their bones. Their mouths open in silent screams, blood openingly flowing from their mouths. They're eyes were wide, practically falling out of their sockets. Zoey screamed. She screamed and she screamed and then she screamed some more. Her screaming stopped as her mother tackled her to the ground and wrapped her hands around her neck.

_"You monster! You did this to them! You couldn't leave them in peace could you_!" Zoey's mother screamed at her, tightening her grip around her daughter's throat. Slowly squeezing the life out of her. A sick smile spread across her face as she watched her struggle, the color draining from her face. _"This time I'll kill you! I was nice and left you to your own devices! I took you far away but you had to come back! Well you won't come back this time!"_

* * *

Za'au was startled from his sleep by Zoey's screams. He had fallen asleep on the floor of Imeadi'sden after being told to watch her until his mother completed her responsibilities around Hometree. He had never heard someone scream so much in their sleep. Children in the clan sometimes would cry out when their sleep was filled with bad dreams but no where near to this level. Za'au scratched his head as rose to his feet. So much for her sleeping until Imeadi returned. He watched her as he went up to her, her face was scrunched in what appeared to be pain and tears ran from her eyes. She appeared to be grabbing for something. It almost looked like she was trying to fend off something. He sat next to her in the hammock and shook her shoulder lightly but she didn't wake. It seemed like it made her lash out even more. He groaned and brushed a hand over his head. Why him? He leaned in close to her ear and shook her harder, _"Wake up! You are dreaming." _He tried sounding as calm as possible but in all honesty he was annoyed that he had to be the one waking her up from a nightmare. This is something for a female of the tribe to do. They have experience waking children up from nightmares not him.

Her eyes flashed open and darted around frantically trying to regain her bearings. The young woman's eyes fell instantly on Za'au who was leaning over her, she felt relieved that it was only a nightmare but sadness gripped her heart as the realization sunk in that she really was away from anything familiar and that she never was going to see her mom again. Zoey grabbed her locket around her neck and clutched it against her chest. Not only was this locket the only thing she had from her father, it was now the only thing she had left of her entire family.

Za'au watched the girl hang on to her necklace. It must have great importance to her. He felt like he should say something but his tongue was tied, his green eyes glanced at the doorway hoping Imeadi would walk in at that moment and spare him having to speak. He sighed obviously not getting out of it, he looked over at the girl, _"Do you need some water?"_

Zoey looked at him and nodded, wiping tears from her eyes, "_Yes please." _Her voice was small and weak, obviously worn out from all the screaming she's done in the past day. She watched as Za'au stood up and walked over to a large stone basin and scooped up water into a wood cup and brought it back over to her. _"Thank-you."_ She took the cup from him and drank it. The water felt good, she hadn't realized how thirsty she had been; she didn't even mind the earthy taste of the water, the taste was a huge difference from the filtered water from earth. A gasp escaped her mouth upon finished the water, her body ached for more water, she looked over at her companion. He was untying something that was hanging from the ceiling, she cleared her throat, _"Um, can I have some more water please?"_ He turned and looked at her and before coming back over, when he came over to her, he carried a large leaf that held a variety of native fruits. He set it on her lap and took the cup from her and got it filled.

As he filled her cup again, he glanced back at her. She was just staring at the fruit as if she wasn't sure what she was to do with them. _"Eat."_

Zoey looked up at him, _"This is food?" _

Za'au brought the cup of water back to her and grabbed a piece of fruit and stuck it in his mouth. "Go on it. It is sweet. You will like it," he spoke with fruit still in his mouth.

She didn't trust him but the rumbling in her stomach told her to go for it. Slowly, she picked up a piece of fruit and took a small bite. It was like candy, but better! Zoey smiled for the first time since she found herself in the strange place, it was so good! It was so juicy, earth had nothing that even compared to this! _"This is amazing!_"

_"Good. How is your arm?" _

_"I don't really know, it hurts though." _This stuff made her mood go in the completely opposite direction, she smiled wiping juice off her chin with her arm.

* * *

Hufwe had finally seemed to settle down, hearing the Tsakìk's decision about had made his blood boil. Why had Eywe let this happen? What was it about this girl that caused Eywe to favor her? What was so special about her? These questions had made him angry but now they just drifted through his mind lazily; he wasn't happy about it but at least is was now able to at least somewhat enjoy his day. Hufwe was a handsome male, several of the eligible na'vi females showed signs of being interested in him but that could be said about his friend Za'au. They never harbored jealousy for each other though, the came from two different places. Za'au was a great warrior and was the son of the Oloeyktan and the Tsakìk so women would obviously wish for the chance to be chosen by him. Plus he was a good looking male and the best warrior which made Za'au all the more soughtafter. Hufwe was second only to Za'au in battle and sometimes gave his friend a run for his money on some occasions. Hufwe wasn't too worried anyways about his friend picking the best female first, Za'au really didn't show much interest in choosing a mate, buthim on the otherhand always had it on the mind. The thought of having a female to call his own excited him, Hufwe wanted to be able to feel himself inside of his own female. To feel that special bond. To have that release. When females flirted with him, he often tried to imagine what the experience would be like.

The communal fire was always lit, it was a meeting place for the clan and there was always people of the clan doing various activities. Hufwe was sitting watching some of the females weave reeds into baskets, every once in awhile they would glance at him and giggle and whisper amongst themselves. After sometime, Hufwe began to bore. Him and Za'au would normally be out hunting together, it was odd not to have seem him yet. He stood up and stretched looking around. It was time to go find him, sometimes Za'au's mother will give him a special task to do, usually having to do with grooming him to be the future leader of the clan. After doing some looking and asking around, he finally heard from an elder that Za'au was helping his mother in her den. Finally, he thought he was going to have to give up on him and go hunting by himself.

The Tsakìk's den was on the other side of the communal area, it was on a raised area caused a large root of hometree. Steps were carved into the root to make it accessible for everyone. Hufwe made his way over to the entrance, as he approached, voices from within caused his stride to slow. He could hear his friend's voice but who was the other voice? It wasn't a voice he recognized from the clan. He aproached the entryway off from the side, and he peered in. He couldn't beleive it, it was the dreamwalker again! His closest friend was spending time with that...that thing and what made things worse was that they actually seemed to be enjoying themselves. Hufwe was boiling again. The blood rushed to his face making his face hot. Just the sight of that girl made him angry. He couldn't stomach to go in there so he turned around and stormed off. He tried to tell himself that the Tsakìk had probably told him to watch her but that didn't seem to help. All he felt was anger and hurt.


	7. Chapter Six

**Author's Notes : **Sorry about the slow update. Wow, I guess I need to check the word count is MS before even bothering to upload the chapter. Another incident of where 4 pages only turns out to be under 2,000 words...obviously I've added more but still. Sorry about the wait, and I hate to say that the next chapters won't be up too terribly quickly. Classes have started and between classes and working full time I don't have much time for anything else. I will still try to get chapters up a quickly as I can. Good news is that at my current job, if its slow, I can still work on chapters but I am currently looking for a new job and if and when I get that new job that will probably change. Also, after watching Avatar again, I found myself fighting the urge of starting another fanfiction but I am trying to hold off until I get this one completed.

* * *

By the time Imeadi returned, Za'au was itching to leave. He was tired of babysitting Zoey and needed to get out and blow off some steam. Zoey was slowly nodding off to sleep on the hammock after she had finally quenched her thirst and got her tummy full. The Oloeyktan, Mor'Aek was accompanying his wife, Imeadi when she entered the den. Za'au stood up from where he was sitting on the floor and greeted his parents in Na'vi, "Hello Mother. Hello Father. Are you done with your duties for today?"

Mor'Aek frowned, "Only for a moment, your mother thought it necessary for me to hear what this Dreamwalker has to say."

Imeadi smiled at her husband and placed a hand momentarily on his shoulder before smiling at her son, "For now I am. We must find out more about our young guest, has she said much?"

Za'au shook his head, "No she has not said anything about where she has come from or how she got lost here. She did however have a horrible dream, like the ones small children sometimes get."

Imeadi murmured something to herself before responding, "Did she speak of the dream?"

"No, the only thing she really spoke of was her thirst and hunger. Speaking of which, she ate you out of your fruit. I will go and bring you more once I am done here."

Mor'Aek snorted, "let us get our answers from her quickly; I cannot ignore my duties, especially because of this stranger."

Imeadi hissed at her husband, he could be so childish, "You of any should show more interest of what this girl will say. She could hold clues to what may come and clues to Eywa's will. You are the Oloeyktan! This matter should be of great importance to you! Stop your complaining."

Mor'Aek looked into his wife's golden eyes. Through her eyes, he could see her passion on the matter. She was serious about thinking that this girl may hold important information and she was right. This girl may know of a possible upcoming attack or other information regarding the Sky People. He smiled briefly at his wife, "Go on with it then. I will listen to what is said."

Imeadi held her head just a little higher with satisfaction, the corners of her thick lips turned up ever-so-slightly in a hidden smug smile, "Very good."

"Mother? If you are here for a while, may I leave now? This girl is tiresome and I need to go hunt."

"In a moment, Za'au. As the future clan leader, you must hear this as well."

Za'au growled and his tail whipped around in annoyance, "As you wish Mother."

Imeadi walked over to the slumbering girl and shook her lightly and spoke to her in English, "Wake up child."

Zoey moaned and reluctantly opened her eyes and stared up at Imeadi. She felt like crying again, it was going to take time to get used to waking up to these blue people. After sitting up, Zoey scratched her head and stretched, looking at the three people (if that's what you call them,) standing in front of her. There was the woman with a long, thick braid in front and the ornate head dress; the young man with green eyes that had brought her to this place from the swamp and had brought her food and water, and then there was the older green eyed man, with a bone piercing through his cat-like nose. This man's head was completely shaved, save for a strip of small braids on top of his head which combined with his long braid. That seemed to be part of the hairstyle all the people here had, Zoey wondered if that had some significant or if it was just the current 'fad.'

Imeadi spoke first, "What is your name child?"

"Zoey." She was feeling a little scared all of a sudden; her voice was small and unsure. Here she was, surrounded, these strange beings staring down at her, judging her.

"How many years old are you?"

Zoey's brow furrowed as she remembered what seemed to be a dream of her calling out for her in sleep but unable to wake up. She remembered the brief moment she saw her mom, she said that she had been sick. "Um, thirteen…" Something in Zoey's gut told her she was wrong about her age.

The family trio looked to each other for a moment. Their eyes relaying the same question, that she couldn't be just thirteen. Mor'Aek spoke first, "You cannot be that age, you have at least been born for seventeen years."

"That's really how old I am," she paused, "I think."

Za'au chimed in, "You think? How can you not know your own age?"

Zoey whimpered, "I-I just don't!"

Mor'Aek snorted, "Useless, dumb creature."

Tears began to well up in her eyes again. How could they be so mean to her? Why couldn't she be sure of her own age? Zoey's chest heaved up and down faster and faster as she tried to keep her tears back.

Imeadi hissed at her husband and son , "ftang!" She turned back to Zoey and smiled comfortingly, though her tail still showed signs of annoyance at her family, "Can you not remember your age?"

Zoey shook her head, "No, it's not that I don't remember. I was sick for a long time; I really don't know how long I was sick. It was like I was in a dream the whole time." She paused thinking of her mom, she choked back tears, "I woke up for a little bit, before I woke up in the forest. I saw my mom, she told me that I had been sick for a very long time but everything was going to alright now, but then I blacked out."

"So you do not remember how you even got to be in the forest?"

A snicker escaped from Za'au.

The eyes of Imeadi and Zoey fell on him and his mother spoke expectantly, "Za'au, my son. You would not know anything would you?"

Za'au frowned, "Well I do not know what they were doing in the first place, but we were doing scouting on our ikrans and spoted the Sky People flying in two of their flying ships. We attacked to drive them off and she fell from one of them."

Zoey cried out thinking her mother must have been killed, "Y-you killed my mom! That's why she didn't come for me!" Her face went hot, she wanted to avenge her mom, she lashed out at Za'au, "Why! She didn't do anything! You took her from me!" She tried to kick him and hit him but Mor'Aek had grabbed her before she could land any blows, not that she'd do any damage. She fought against his grip, screaming and sobbing at the same time.

Za'au exclaimed, slapping Zoey's hands away from him, "We did not kill anyone! If someone died it was because of their own clumsy weapons."

Imeadi stood there calmly, letting Zoey run herself out on energy, "Zoey you must stop this silliness at once. Your arm needs rest." As she had probably expected, Zoey's energy soon hit empty. Her shoulders slumped over and Mor'Aek allowed her to slide out of his grip to the floor into a sobbing mass; her black hair sticking to her wet cheeks. The Tsakìk sighed, "Come, stop this crying. You mother is fine and probably does not know you are missing. I do not know much about Dreamwalkers but I do know that they are not their true bodies. Your mother probably does not know you are in this body still. When she realizes that, she will come looking."

"D-do you think she'll find me?"

"That I do not know. The land here is very unforgiving, even if she looks for you, she may never find you."

"Can't we find her?"

"We cannot. Unless you know where you were heading, we have no way to find her. Best thing is to stay with us. Here you will be safe."

Once again, the feeling of hopelessness washed over her. She felt defeated and alone once again. Zoey did still have one glimmer of hope, her mom was alive and once she finds out that she's out here, her mom will come find her. A cloud of doubt hovered above her though, what if her nightmare had truth in it? What if her mom didn't want to find her? What if she was dumped here for a reason? Zoey forced a convincing smile as she had done so many times before in her life, "What do I do now?"

Imeadi smiled, "You will live here with us. You will be taught our ways and how to live off what Eywa provides. It will be hard for you at first, but you are young and will learn quickly."

"Are you going to teach me?"

Imeadi turned to her husband, "You may leave us now." She smiled to her husband and he returned it has he left. "Not you, my son." She looked at Za'au has he was trying to edge to the door himself, "You need to stay for a moment longer. Imeadi turned back to Zoey and helped her to her feet, "I do not have time to teach you. My role is too great to put aside for the lessons of one person, my son however has plenty of time to do so."

Za'au and Zoey groaned in unison. Zoey's first impression of Za'au hadn't been the best. Not only did he absolutely terrify her in the swamp but he attack the aircrafts her and her mom were in and caused her to fall in the first place. So in her eyes, her current predicament was all his fault. Za'au on the otherhand thought Zoey was a pathetic crybaby. She was a child and his role was not to babysit; she should be put with the rest of the younglings. If she was at the same level as thirteen year old Na'vi then he would not be so upset but from what he has seen of humans, a thirteen year old human is about as helpful as a four year old na'vi. At least Na'vi children know what plants are poisonous. Za'au tried to reason with his mother in Na'vi, "Mother, I cannot take this child on hunts and I am needed too much not go on them. Can she not learn with our children? She does not even know the basics of survival."

"My Son, I do not expect you to take her everywhere with you, but her mind will never mature if she is kept with our children. She must be exposed to the ways of adult life as well."

Za'au grumbled but his mother did make sense. His mother always did. "Alright, I understand and I will do as you wish."

Zoey was frustrated, how rude it was for them to talk amongst themselves about her. She couldn't understand them but she could tell by their looks and glances that it was her they were discussing. They could at least speak in english.

Imeadi smiled and spoke to Zoey in English, "Zoey, go with my son and listen to him well. He may be thick skulled but he is smart, strong and a good teacher."

An hour had passes since the discussion in the Tsakìk's Den, Za'au was silent as he made his way through the village, Zoey trailed behind him trying to keep up with his long strides. It was obvious that he was trying to make things difficult, she frowned, he was moving so quickly that when he pointed out the purpose of specific areas that she hardly had time to see what he was referring to. "You're going too fast! Can you slow it down a little bit."

Za'au stopped in spun around to face her, causing her to almost run into him. His ears were laid back against his head, "I am not going too fast, you are going too slow." An iratated growl rumbled from his throat, "You don't even know how to move from one place to the next. You walk as if your legs are tied together at the knees, taking such clumsy and small steps. You have long legs, use them. Take.."he paused to think of the proper english words to use, "..long steps."

Zoey had taken a few steps back from Za'au after nearly running into him, she flustered, "I do not walk like that!" She placed her hands defiantly on her hips, tail whipping wildly behind her "You're the one walking like you're trying to get rid of me! You don't even give me time to look to see what you're talking about, how am I suppose to remember anything that you're telling me?"

Za'au snorted, he was going a little faster than what he would normally, but it was not because he was trying to lose her, "If I wanted to lose you, I would lose you. I would not waste time letting you follow me. The purpose of these places should be plain to see, I should not even have to tell you. If you weren't blind to what went on around you, you would see."

She was steaming, "I'd rather be blind then be a big jerk like you!"

That word puzzled him and angered him, he may not know the meaning but he could tell by the way she used it that it was an insult. Za'au growled grabbing Zoey by her upper arm and shook her firmly, "You better learn to show respect, Dreamwalker. This is not your home; Outsiders have been known to be killed for such insolence."

Wincing, Zoey cried out as Za'au grabbed her arm. She gazed up at him, her golden eyes wide with fear as the Na'vi male's green eyes burned holes through her. She whimpered, "Please let go. You're hurting me. I won't say anything again, I promise."

He released his grip with a grumble, "Hmph, you're mother probably grew tired of you and let you fall on purpose!"

Those words shook her to the core, "Don't say that."

"I only speak the truth, I have only just met you and I already wish you gone. I bet she just wants to teach you a lesson.

She clenched her eyes shut, pushing a few tears down her cheek and she covered her eyes with her hands "Don't say that."

He paused, perhaps he had gone too far, he sighed, regretting what he had just said, "I am sorry," he placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, "that was not something I should have said."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, she must have looked like the Pandoran equivalent of a kicked puppy because he expression changed very quickly to a flabbergasted look. Zoey sighed and wiped the few tears from her cheeks, "Promise me you won't talk about my mom like that again."

Za'au recovered from the look Zoey had on her face. He couldn't explain the feeling he got from that look, it had made his chest feel tight. Her cheeks were flushed and dewy from her tears and her eyes were so full of innosence. It was almost attractive in a way. He cleared his throat, "I promise.

Zoey nodded, "Ok then, let's just try to start over. I promise that I'll try to not be burden if you promise that you'll try to be patient with me."

He nodded, her terms were agreeable enough and he hadn't really given her a chance to learn anything, "Agreed."


	8. Chapter seven

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long over due and short chapter. I have to admit that I kind of lost interest but because I am still getting people adding this to their faves I'm going to hang in there and keep writing! I dedicate this chapter to all those who are still showing interest in this. Starting the next chapter I may start writing from Zoey's perspective. I was planing on doing this later in the story but I figured why not now. I'm a bigger fan of first person anyways :-) Just a warning, chapters may be short but hopefully they will be posted close together. I have a new job working nights at a hotel and I have 6 hour window of having absolutely nothing to do except for messing around on my laptop. lol

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The rest of the day had gone better after their fight; Zoey and Za'au had managed to finish the tour of Hometree without incident. They didn't say much besides what was needed but it was peaceful. Za'au's mind was not fully on the task at hand however, his thoughts kept drifting to the thought that he hadn't seen Hufwe since their return to Hometree and that was strange. Usually his friend would come find him to see if he wanted to join him for a patrol or a friendly competition but today he hadn't. Za'au knew that his friend wasn't too happy about the Oloeyktan's decision to allow Zoey live among them but he hoped that Hufwe wouldn't let that get in the way of their friendship.

At dinner, the clan had all gathered around the central fire to eat. Zoey sat besides Za'au and while they ate he explained the importance of the clan eating together and how it strengthened their bond with each other. He explained how everyone in the clan watched out for one another and they put away personal differences and accept each other for who they are and how it was something that The Sky People would do well to learn. Zoey smiled a small, sad smile. She had to agree with her strange guide, acceptance had always been something that humans struggled with, and their history books showed that well enough. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that humans were discriminating against the people of Pandora because of their beliefs and way of life. Back on earth they didn't hear much about how they treated the natives but everyone knew that the RDA was keeping a lot of information from everyone.

After dinner it was time for bed, Za'au guided her high up into Hometree. As they climbed the central spiral, Zoey allowed herself some mild enjoyment, trailing her fingers along the rough surface of the tree. She was grateful for the hospitality these people had shown her. Despite their differences and the hostility between their races, they welcomed her.

She snapped out of it quickly when her guide stopped abruptly and spoke. "This is where we sleep." Za'au motioned down, below the large limb they were now standing on.

Zoey's face went pale as she stared down at the naturally forming hammocks. It wasn't the hammocks that made her blood turn cold but it was the extreme height at which they hung. Her head spun from the height, the rows and rows of hammocks seemed to go on and on forever. She nervously brush her hair awkwardly behind her ears, her mouth silently mouthing words which Za'au couldn't make out.

Za'au had already hopped down onto his own hammock, he looked up at her, "What is wrong?"

She crouched down on the branch, fingers gripping the moss tightly, "It's too high, I'll fall."

Za'au sighed, "You won't fall." He looked over the edge of the hammock, they were pretty high up but it was how things always were. "If our children can do it, so can you."

She licked her lips nervously, her eyes locked on the hammock below. She shook her head again, not believing Za'au's words. "I can't." Zoey's eyes were so locked onto the hammock that she never noticed Za'au getting back onto the branch, it wasn't until he shook her shoulders that she was able to tear her eyes from it. She looked into his face, her fear of heights had gripped her and hot tears were forming in her eyes. "Please don't make me!"

"It is safe. We all sleep here for a reason. Eywe keeps us safe. Cradles us. We would not let our children sleep where it was not safe." Za'au held both hands out to his ward, "here I will help you down. You won't fall" When she shrank away from him, his ears laid back against his head. He was trying to keep his temper but she was making it hard. "Stop being like a baby. I told you that I will not let you fall, now you must listen to me and do as I say or I will leave you on this branch and you can be cold all night."

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, she twisted her fingers around in her hair for a moment, staring at Za'au's hands. She looked up into his large his large eyes, slowly took his hands, crawling up to her feet. Her knees felt weak, trembling beneath her, threatening to send her back to her previous position, crouched on the branch; or worse it could send her toppling off their perch and send her crashing to her death. Zoey shuddered and tried to shake the image.

Za'au helped her to her feet, he could feel her trembling and tried to smile warmingly at her to boost her confidence. "Now I'm going to just lower you down. Just back up to the edge and trust me."

Zoey closed her eyes and did what he told her to. He seemed to be able to support her weight with little effort, lowering her as if she weighed nothing. She felt pure relief when she felt the surprisingly stable hammock under her feet. Her hands did not release Za'au's until she was on her knees. The hammock felt organic, as if the grew naturally. She gazed up at Za'au so see him already swinging down back into his own hammock. She smiled shyly at him, and in a small embarrassed voice expressed her thanks.

Za'au shrugged it off, "Next night you do it yourself." He quickly straightened himself up and proceeding to swing himself down into his own hammock. He didn't bother looking at her, the day was over and he was ready to welcome the silence of sleep. He didn't notice his charge roll onto her side to face him, her mouth opening as if to say something then close as if she had suddenly lost her courage. Za'au lightly brushed his hand over the edge of his hammock, the material softly glowed reacting to his touch and followed his hand over him, wrapping him in a cocoon.

Zoey's lips pulled down in a frown then simply followed his lead and did the some motion with her own hand. It was true what Za'au had said about the hammock, it cradles you, protects you; she felt safe. As if the cocoon that formed around her was impenetrable and nothing could get to her. She relaxed and as she listened to the symphony of the forest, and the hum of numerous families around her sleeping, she soon drifted to sleep.

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Dreams, how odd. When she slept before, in the Tsahìk's den they were vivid, but that night it was dark and fuzzy. Distant yet familiar voices seemed to call to her from the darkness. So alone. She was alone.


End file.
